The 850-bed Sanctuary at Kennesaw will have 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space when it opens in fall 2013.Atlanta — Lee & Associates has arranged a partnership for a new student housing mixed-use property 1.2 miles north of Kennesaw State University that will open for the 2013 fall semester. The private sector development team is being led by Mark Randall and John Long of South City Partners. It also includes CIMA Management and Carlyle Realty Partners. Bruce Davis of Lee & Associates arranged the partnership formation.

The Sanctuary at Kennesaw will be an 850-bed, 245-unit property with a 40,000-square-foot retail component. "The City of Kennesaw has embraced the 25,000 Kennesaw State students as important citizens, but it didn't necessarily want college bars to personify its family-oriented, historic downtown area, so it established a designated entertainment district along the Cherokee Street corridor," Davis says.

"The project has significant frontage in this district, so its retail component should open with a collection of vibrant tenants that will enjoy both local traffic as well as immediate patronage and life with a day-one population of 850 students."

Davis says several restaurants are already interested in the area.

Among the six schools in the University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State University is the fastest growing, with a current enrollment of approximately 25,000. It just received Division I status and has plans to field a varsity football team in 2013.